Tag Archives: Persecution

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Yesterday I came across an article in a local online newspaper about how a group of Quakers are helping the LGBTQ community flee Uganda’s absurd and outrageous Anti-Homosexuality Act. What’s more, I got to learn a lot about the Quaker community, otherwise known as the Religious Society of Friends (didn’t know that either).

Like the Amish community, Quakers are fervently religious and believe very strongly in non-violence. However whereas The Amish are very conservative and don’t adapt to change, Quakers are pretty liberal and embrace modern technology. Another thing, Quakers don’t have priests or clergymen and eschew religious symbolism, and for that alone this atheist is warming up to them.

But here’s why I think they’re simply awesome: Quakers are involving themselves in a dangerous activity by helping people escape persecution. And they’ve done it before; many times.

Quakers denounced slavery as early as the 1670’s in Barbados. Later they would play a fundamental role in abolishing slavery in the United States. They were also involved in setting up the Underground Railroad in the USA which helped runaway slaves.

It was therefore fitting that the group based in Olympia, Washington, assisting people escape the bigotry and persecution as a result of the draconian law passed by the Ugandan government, decided to call themselves Friends New Underground Railroad (FNUR).

However not everyone likes what they’re doing; even right’s activists and NGO’s within the LGBTQ community have their reservations, but I think it’s just remarkable.

Meanwhile Ugandan activists, and right’s organizations like Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) who incidentally are critical of what FNUR are doing, are petitioning the courts to overturn the anti-gay law. I sincerely hope they’re succesful. The world does not need legislated hatred.

People are always saying that they feel persecuted. But in most cases, is it really persecution they’re feeling or just plain annoyance?

Just this morning I read a blog post by a young Ugandan women studying in South Africa who feels that Christians around the world are being persecuted…for being Christian. But is what she is describing, really persecution, or just plain annoyance at the proponents of presumably opposing religions claiming that their gods are superior, or that the Christian god is false? This is merely a case of disagreement over ideological principles, which may lead to isolated cases of physical violence and terror, but this is hardly evidence of a systematic campaign of persecution.

However, the persecution of alleged witches during the history of Christianity was real, and was as a result of misguided Christians demonstrating their perceived superiority.

Homosexuals on the other hand also claim to be persecuted. Are they really?

Yes, in the case of homosexuals, large-scale persecution is both visible and measurable. They are not just feeling annoyed at heterosexuals; there is tangible evidence for both physical and psychological torment being directed at them. They have every right to feel aggrieved at others who systematically torment them because of their choice of sexual orientation which is not an ideological principle.

Persecution is also evident where race is concerned. Generally people’s of the darker races have every right to feel victimized by lighter skinned people’s, but that does not mean that there are no cases where the opposite is also true. Racial discrimination most certainly constitutes an act of persecution because one does not choose which race to be born into.

So, the next time I hear someone of Christian, or Muslim or any other religious persuasion complaining of being persecuted, please spare me the false anguish. Your annoyance at being called out by your opposition or even non-believers, is pitiful.